Statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Current landing approach information for aeronautical applications is typically depicted on a cockpit display or paper charts to a pilot and/or co-pilot as pre-composed and non-interactive images. Such images typically contain all approach minima related information which are applicable to a specific approach procedure, covering any applicable aircraft categories, any approach landing maneuvers, various missed approach climb gradients, and several component-out conditions of the airport facilities. One exemplary minima chart for “LFSB” (Basle/Mulhouse Airport, France) is illustrated in FIG. 1. Five different RVR (Runway Visual Range) requirements are presented to the pilot for evaluation, together with 10 different visibility figures V1-V10. Two of the RVRs are for ILS (Instrument Landing System) with and without ALS (Approach Lighting System) and two for LOC (Localizer) with and without ALS. In addition, other critical information such as the Decision Height (DH) or Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) are also indicated for varying airports and airport equipment conditions.
The pilot and/or co-pilot are required to visually and mentally digest and filter the non-relevant information out from that information that applies specifically to the operational situation at hand. For example, if the aircraft being flown is a category “C” aircraft, then the minima information pertaining to the category “A”, “B” and “D” aircraft will not be needed by the pilot or co-pilot. As will be appreciated, this can significantly add to the cognitive workload of the pilot and/or co-pilot while the pilot and/or co-pilot are attempting to perform a flight maneuver, such as a landing approach, in the aircraft.
Even within digital Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) devices, the aeronautical approach charts do not allow real-time user interaction to filter information, to alter displayed data or to use real-time and current operational parameters to de-clutter approach charts automatically and dynamically. By “de-clutter”, it is meant the operation of removing minima information that the pilot does not need, based on real-time weather conditions, real-time airport operational conditions, the specific aircraft being piloted, and various other factors. Alternatively, the “de-clutter” terminology can be thought of as the operation of “masking” certain minima information that the pilot and co-pilot do not need, so that certain information non-pertinent is not presented to the pilot and/or co-pilot. As a result, approach charts typically contain significantly more information than a flight crew requires for executing a landing approach under a certain condition (e.g., aircraft approach category). Even though some present day airlines have custom made paper charts for them that only indicate the aircraft category that is applicable for their flight rules, such charts typically still present information pertaining to a plurality of different airport and/or visibility conditions. Thus, such custom charts still require the pilot and/or co-pilot to cognitively filter out a relatively large amount of information that will not be pertinent to the specific airport and weather conditions that are present at the time an approach is being executed. This can significantly add to the cognitive workload imposed on the pilot and/or co-pilot.